Prevention of Streptococcal Pharyngitis among Military Personnel and Their Civilian Dependents by Mass Prophylaxis

Abstract

MANY studies have described the incidence of streptococcal pharyngitis in military personnel,^{1 , 2} and more recently attention has been focused on the occurrence of this disease in nonmilitary populations.^{3 4 5 6} The criticism directed at the studies on military recruits suggests that epidemic pharyngitis in this population is not comparable to the typical milder endemic disease occurring in civilian populations. Siegel and his associates³ suggested that the prominent exudative tonsillitis reported during epidemics among military recruits is not a constant feature of endemic streptococcal pharyngitis observed in children. Among military recruits the well documented studies of Rammelkamp¹ indicate that rheumatic fever occurs in . . .